"I
have always wanted to meet her. Would I recognize her? I don’t know. She is described as being tall, and thin, with
strong cheek bones and red hair. To me
though, rather than a character in a science fiction story, she has represented
an ideal. Her name, if it’s possible for an ideal to have a name, is Sabri. In
Hilari Bell’s novel A Matter of Profit,
instead of agreeing to an arranged marriage, she stands up for her strongest belief,
that she is free to make her own choices, and in the end she is forced to stand
up for this conviction in order to preserve her freedom. This ideal, the
strength and willingness to stand up for your convictions, no matter what the
cost, is what she stands for to me. I too was forced to make a choice between
submission and my own convictions.
When I was reading A Matter of Profit, I was going through
a hard time in my life. I was twelve years old, in the thick of middle school,
just an average kid except for one thing. I was raised Unitarian Universalist,
which has its roots in Protestant Christianity, but does not require belief in
a creed. I live in the Bible belt, in an area where evangelical Christians make
up a large percentage of my peers. The other kids, needless to say, did not
take kindly to the fact that I did not share their same religious beliefs. As
soon as they found out that I had that one difference, they began to pester me
on a daily basis. They told me that I had better convert soon or I was going to
burn in hell. Forever.
This
constant badgering and intolerance continued on a daily basis for about a year.
As I sat in the library thinking about converting I noticed a book on the
shelf. I picked it up and started reading
about Sabri. Once I began reading, A
Matter of Profit, I became so engrossed that I completely forgot to tell my
tormenters what I had decided. By the next day, I had finished the book, and
something inside of me was enkindled. My will to resist. My will to stand up
for my beliefs. After some thought, I determined what I was going to do. I was
going to defend my convictions, and not back down, no matter what they would do
to me.
Our
world is full of people who stuck to their convictions and held to their beliefs
are. Susan B Anthony spent 50 years of her life championing the rights of
women. Even after being arrested and tried for voting in the 1872 presidential
election, Anthony stated “failure is impossible”. She was proven correct when
women won the right to vote with the passage of the 19th amendment. Mahatma
Gandhi practiced non-violent civil disobedience throughout his life. His
strength and willingness to stand up for his convictions led to the release of
India from British rule. Rosa Parks was arrested for civil disobedience after
she refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger. She did not back down
from her convictions and for this she is called the “Mother of the Freedom
Movement”.
Like
these real life champions, Sabri chose not to give up her freedom. For Sabri,
her actions resulted in her disfigurement and her exile from her world. For me,
sticking to my beliefs resulted in more arguments and redoubled pressure to
change my convictions. Would I risk being arrested or jailed for my
convictions? I don’t know. But thanks to Susan, Mahatma, Rosa and Sabri and their
strength of conviction, I am able to stand up for my beliefs. Will sticking to
my convictions change the world? (shrug) It’s worth a try."
I don't know. Thats what I've got on tolerance, convictions, and religious freedom. *DO NOT COPY AND PASTE*
Alright, thanks for reading.
JS
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